Kentucky Wildcats Just Can't Compete With Florida Gators Yet

The Kentucky Wildcats had a lot of things going for them as they headed into Saturday’s contest against the Florida Gators. All signs heading into the game, from the Kentucky side, were good.

The Wildcats were coming off of a bye week, so they had two weeks to prepare for the Gators, a team they have not beaten since 1986. Florida was playing Tyler Murphy at quarterback in place of injured starter Jeff Driskel. Perhaps Florida’s best defensive player, Dominique Easley, tore his ACL during practice this week, and is out for the season.

So it seemed that Kentucky might actually have a chance against the Gators this season. A chance to end a 26-game losing streak and to give Mark Stoops his first SEC win.

However, it wasn’t to be. Florida, behind nice play from Murphy, rolled past Kentucky for the 27th-straight time, winning 24-7 on Saturday night at Commonwealth Stadium.

The Florida defense also helped the cause. The Gators held Kentucky’s offense in check. In fact, Kentucky’s only touchdown in the game came on a fake field goal, when kicker Joe Mansour scored from 25 yards out.

Simply put, Kentucky does not have the players to play with a team like Florida right now. Stoops and his staff are doing an outstanding job on the recruiting trail, and the talent level in Lexington will be on the rise over the next few years. But right now, there just isn’t enough talent and/or depth on the Kentucky roster to top Florida.

Tim Letcher is a contributing writer for RantSports.com and a member of the Football Writers Association of America. Follow him on Twitter @TimLetcher , on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.